


Blanket Covered Scream

by masterwords



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Aaron Hotchner Needs a Hug, Episode: s04e01 Mayhem, Hurt Aaron Hotchner, Protective David Rossi, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29067348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masterwords/pseuds/masterwords
Summary: “Do you think he's okay?” JJ asked, staring down the long hallway lined with closed, numbered doors that hid any number of secrets.  Doing the job she did, she knew some of those secrets were better left locked in.  The carpet was blue and green, swirling beneath her feet, with tiny specks of gold that made it look like the sea at night, all deep dark ocean and bright moonlight.  It smelled like jasmine and window cleaner.  Emily was leaning heavily, exhausted, against the wall, her arms folded over her chest.  They were both staring hard at the room three doors down from them.“No,” Emily replied coolly, and she shrugged helplessly, reaching up to tug at her ponytail.  “How can he be?” JJ looked at Emily, then back at the door.   Everything had happened so fast that evening that they both felt like they were suddenly moving in slow motion, unable to process what was happening now that it was finished.“What do we do?”“Nothing we can do,” Emily said, pulling the elastic from her hair and letting it cascade around her shoulders.  “They let him leave the hospital.  You know that means he thinks he's fine and doesn’t need help.”
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	Blanket Covered Scream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chibicheeberson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibicheeberson/gifts).



> Written as a response to a request by chibicheeberson, to see what happens the night after they finish the case in “Mayhem”. I’ve had a few different ideas of things I thought would have happened, but this one was my favorite. Give me all the Hotch bros! I know that in canon they tried to imply that maybe Hotch was interested in Kate, but I went a different direction with it. ;)

“Do you think he's okay?” JJ asked, staring down the long hallway lined with closed, numbered doors that hid any number of secrets. Doing the job she did, she knew some of those secrets were better left locked in. The carpet was blue and green, swirling beneath her feet, with tiny specks of gold that made it look like the sea at night, all deep dark ocean and bright moonlight. It smelled like jasmine and window cleaner. Emily was leaning heavily, exhausted, against the wall, her arms folded over her chest. They were both staring hard at the room three doors down from them. 

“No,” Emily replied coolly, and she shrugged helplessly, reaching up to tug at her ponytail. “How can he be?” JJ looked at Emily, then back at the door. Everything had happened so fast that evening that they both felt like they were suddenly moving in slow motion, unable to process what was happening now that it was finished. 

“What do we do?”

“Nothing we can do,” Emily said, pulling the elastic from her hair and letting it cascade around her shoulders. “They let him leave the hospital. You know that means he thinks he's fine and doesn’t need help.” 

“We didn't exactly give the doctor a choice,” JJ said softly. “We should have tried harder to make him stay. He looked really bad when we got here. That blast was enough to kill Agent Joyner and we’re just supposed to accept that he’s okay?”

“JJ,” Emily said, stepping forward, ready to try and console her friend when the elevator door opened and out stepped Dave, whistling what Emily recognized right away to be a Tony Bennett song. He came sauntering toward them, dressed casually and clean, a pizza box in one arm with a six-pack of beer perched on top, the other hand holding a hotel key card. Emily scrunched her nose and looked at JJ – his room was two floors up, sharing a hallway with Derek and Spencer, they both knew it. He made eye contact with the women briefly before stopping at a door, the door they'd been staring at for too long now, and smiled at them before slipping his key card in the slot and entering the room without a word. 

“Did he just...” JJ started, pushing her hair back behind her ear, staring at the now closed door. Emily nodded.

“Yep.”

“Okay...so he has a key to...”

“Yep.”

Both women stared for a moment before laughing to themselves.

“Drink?” JJ asked, turning on her heel, suddenly feeling much better about the evening ahead of them. She'd wanted Hotch to be okay, to be taken care of, but if she was being honest with herself – she didn't really want to be the one to do it. Neither did Emily. They didn’t know how to fix it. Watching Dave walk into that room was a godsend. Neither of them would be worrying, and they could go blow off some steam. Even if JJ couldn’t have alcohol, she was about to try and enjoy herself the best she could.

“Absolutely!” Emily replied, pulling her hair back again into a tight ponytail and following JJ down the hallway toward the elevator. 

Inside the room, Dave's evening prospects were far more grim. The room was dark and he could detect the faint smell of blood and vomit. Aaron's clothes were draped over a chair, the contents of his ready bag strewn about like he’d been searching for something he couldn’t find. He could hear the shower running, and he could hear his friend's panicked breathing and whimpering coming from inside, it was a sound he'd grown familiar with over the years. In the days when the team had to share a room at every hotel, he'd often come back to find Aaron having a panic attack in the shower when they were assigned to room together. While the rest of the team would be out blowing off steam over beers, Aaron would just be desperately trying to breathe, to survive the night. At a certain point, to help his friend save face, he'd begun making sure he and Aaron always roomed together just so no one else would know, especially as the teams changed shape and Aaron's ambition to be promoted started to become clear – it wasn't exactly a sacrifice, he adored Aaron, and it eased his friend's anxiety tenfold along the way. He could remember the conversation he'd had with Gideon before he retired, passing the torch, and to his credit, Gideon had taken it up without complaint though he was a far less emotionally driven person. By that time, Aaron's panic attacks had waned, came far less frequently as he developed his skills and confidence, though Dave had always assumed he just found a way to keep them to himself instead. 

“Pizza delivery,” Dave called, peeking his head into the bathroom quickly. He heard Aaron shift in the tub and grunt, but he made no attempt to stand, no attempt to save face. It wasn't clear if he'd heard Dave or not, so he stretched his arm out and ruffled the shower curtain a bit, eliciting a startled response from his friend. Aaron poked his head out from behind the curtain, squinted his swollen, red eyes at his friend in the doorway and let the curtain fall back into place. The steam swirled around him, coating his skin with damp.

“Can't hear you...” came his soft reply, in a voice that sounded drowned, choked with fear. Dave stared at the place his friend's face had been moments before, and with a level of boldness not many posessed, he approached the shower and crouched beside it, pulling the curtain back just far enough to see the top of Aaron's head. 

“I said I brought some pizza,” he said, and Aaron didn't look up at him. He shrugged and stood back up, figuring Aaron would come out when he was ready, or he'd drag the man out naked by his hair if necessary. Slipping back into the room, he began tidying up, stuffing the bloody clothes into the trash can, folding his clean clothes, pulling his boxers and t-shirt out of his ready bag. It was like second nature, he'd done this so many times. It was effortless, the way he fell into caregiver mode with Aaron, the man who didn't need anything or anyone except when he did and then it was desperate. The clothes were beside the sink by the time the shower turned off, and the room was clean, beds ready for the two of them to sleep in, pizza and beer on the nightstand between them. He'd managed to find a channel that played classic movies, tonight's offering being The Jerk, a movie he held in the highest regard, especially when you were desperate for a laugh. He sat himself on the unused bed, kicking his feet up, and waited for Aaron to come out of the bathroom. 

At a bar down the street, Derek was sitting nursing his third beer and laughing with Sean Hotchner, who had just gotten off of his shift at a nearby restaurant. His shirt was stained with tomato sauce and grease, his hair was slicked back with hours of hot kitchen sweat, and he was a few beers ahead of his friend. 

“I can't believe you blew up an ambulance in Central Park, you're a fucking maniac,” Sean spat with a lopsided grin. Derek laughed. 

“Where else was I gonna do it, man?” Derek asked, slamming the last of his beer and pouring another from his pitcher. “You see it on the news?”

“Everyone did, dude! They played it on the jumbos in Times Square I heard.”

“Shit, really?” Derek asked, laughing. Sean downed the last of his beer and paused before pouring more himself. 

“You keep all the fun to yourself?”

Derek regarded his friend seriously now, the smile fading from his face. It hadn't really occurred to him that he'd have to tell Sean about his brother, though he wasn't sure why. If it had been him, he would have told his mom and sisters immediately, in fact he already had told them what he'd done, but that wasn't how the Hotchners worked. Until Derek called and asked if Sean wanted to meet up for a drink, he hadn't even known the team was in town. He lowered his voice, spoke seriously when he told Sean about Aaron and the SUV, leaving out the bit about Kate. He knew Sean and Kate had been close, and he didn't want to be the one to pass that news on. It wasn't his to share. Sean's features went ghostly pale, to his credit – even if they didn't talk, it was clear they loved each other very much. 

“He's okay?” Sean asked, fiddling with the napkin now. The bar seemed to go quiet around them, the jukebox played nothing while a woman flipped through the available songs with an indecisiveness that was killing everyone slowly. A serious conversation in a bar without music, nothing could be worse. Derek nodded. 

“Yeah. Pretty banged up, but he'll be fine. I'm driving him back to Quantico tomorrow myself.”

Sean nodded, forced a half smile and took a small sip of his beer. He seemed unconvinced and nervous. “Should I go see him?”

“Up to you,” Derek shrugged. “He's back at the hotel.” 

The room was dark, save for the glow of the TV, when Aaron finally made his way out of the bathroom, still toweling off his hair. He glanced at Dave, and then at the TV, a tiny hint of a smile curving up the corner of his lips at he sight of Steve Martin. 

“Love this movie,” he said so quietly that Dave almost didn't hear him. He draped the towel over a chair and walked over to his bed, sitting down softly and staring at his friend. “Dave, I can't hear anything out of this ear,” he pointed to his right ear, cupping his hand over it as if allowing it to be exposed was painful in itself. “The other one is bad but not like this one.”

Dave slid over to the side of the bed, draped his legs over the side and leaned close to his friend. “Did the doctor say anything about that?”

Aaron stared at his lips, trying to figure out what Dave had said. He could scarcely hear him, it was like a whisper muffled by a wad of cotton in his ear, there were sounds but the ringing was so bad, so painful, lighting up the sides of his face like an airstrip. “I'm sorry,” he muttered, hanging his head, pressing his hands hard to his ears. “I can't...”

Dave slid over to Aaron's bed and pulled him close, running his hand up and down the man's spine. He didn't bother saying anything else, it only seemed to increase his friend's stress. Aaron buried his face in his hands for a moment before returning them to his ears, pressing again. Dave just sat silently, issuing comfort in the only way he could think to. They sat like that for what felt like ages, almost a quarter of the movie passed by before Aaron sat up and scooted back on his bed, only to lie down with a pillow over his head, squeezing it tight around him, losing himself in the muffled darkness. Dave sighed and stood up, helping his friend into the covers and pulling them up and over him. He was making his way over to the beer, it was getting warm but he'd still drink it anyway, when there was a knock at the door. He glanced over at Aaron, who didn't make a move to indicate he'd heard anything at all, and then walked to the door. On the other side was Sean with Derek standing behind him, looking somewhat apologetic. 

“Sean,” Dave said quietly. “What are you doing here?”

“Derek told me what happened...” he muttered, swaying a little on his feet. Derek nodded when Dave searched his face for an answer. 

“He just wanted to make sure Hotch was okay, man. It’s his brother, how do I say no to that?” 

“It's just not a great time right now,” Dave began, starting to push the door closed again. Brother or no, Dave was fiercely protective of Aaron’s vulnerability and he knew this wasn’t the time to have visitors. “I'll let him know you stopped by.” 

Sean hadn't been prepared to be turned away, his inhibitions were down, and he reached forward, catching Dave by surprise. He pushed the door open and searched the room until he saw what he'd come for, a lump inside of the covers that was vaguely Aaron shaped. “I just want to make sure he's okay. I want to hear it from him. That's my brother, Dave.”

The commotion, muffled though it was, startled Aaron. He pulled the pillow off of his head and found himself staring at not just Dave, but now Sean and Derek as well. Mortified didn't begin to cover it. He looked at Dave, his eyes pleading for him to do something, to get them out of there, he looked wild and frightened, and worst of all, betrayed. Dave could see that plain as day. He shouldn't have bothered answering the door. 

“This was a bad idea,” Dave said quietly, but Sean was already making his way toward his brother on the bed. Dave sidled up next to Derek and shot him an accusing glare. “You shouldn't have come here.”

“I know, man, but he looked so worried...” 

As the two talked, they became acutely aware of Sean's voice becoming agitated and they stopped, stared. Aaron and Sean were arguing, though Aaron's side of it was much quieter. 

“I'm fine,” Aaron was insisting, his voice soft, lips tight, teeth gritted. Anyone who had eyes could see the amount of pain he was in, and would probably have let up, but Sean did no such thing. 

“You can't just lie every time you get hurt and expect me to believe you,” Sean spat, looming tall over his brother seated on the bed. Aaron's shoulders were slumped, he looked utterly defeated and just doing everything in his power to stay upright, to save whatever face he could. Sean could see it, he knew, but he simply didn't care. “It's such an asshole thing to do. I'm not a little kid anymore.”

“I know, Sean,” Aaron said softly, he didn't have any fight in him. He was exhausted and the adrenaline from the explosion had worn off entirely, his whole body was made of pain. He could feel places where shards of metal and glass had pierced his skin, where flame had kissed and was beginning to blister, he could feel it in every joint, deep bruises making their way to the surface. He pulled the blankets up around his shoulders, pulling them tight around him. “Can we talk about this another time?”

“We talk now,” Sean was getting louder and it hurt Aaron's ears, though it did bring him some comfort knowing that he could still hear even if he wished right now that he couldn't. “When would you have told me? Tomorrow? Next week? Never? Yeah, I think that's the one...my only fucking family and I would never have known. You're a real piece of work, Aaron.” 

Dave and Derek both approached the bed now, attempting to diffuse the situation. “I understand you're upset Sean, I get it, but I don't think now is the best time to...”

“No, it is. Believe me. If I don't get in now, he'll shut the door for good, pretend this never even happened. One time, he and his friend got into a car accident, wrapped dad’s car around an old oak tree, busted himself up good and he tried to tell me he was fine, that I shouldn’t worry. He couldn’t hardly walk, or talk through his busted up face but no, he was fine. Yeah...I learned a long time ago how to deal with this shit.”

“You need to leave,” Dave said, a little more forcefully than he'd intended, but he didn't regret it. Sean looked at him with a look of shock and offense. 

“You gonna make me?”

“I'll make you,” Derek said, approaching the group of men with his shoulders squared. “C'mon Sean, let's just go. I'll make sure you get to talk to him when he's ready.”

“Yeah, fat chance of that happening,” Sean muttered, stalking angrily toward the door. He paused when he heard Aaron's voice, edged with pain and choking back tears. 

“Kate Joyner died tonight.” Sean felt his veins pump ice. “She was with me at the SUV when the bomb went off.” He watched Sean's face for his reaction, Sean who had fallen head over heels for Kate once upon a time, Sean who had taken her out on dates and shown her the city when she decided to take a position at the New York field office. Been her only friend in New York, at the request of Aaron, who knew she would need it. 

“Aaron, I,” Sean began, turning around to look at his brother. Really look at him, not just see him as the infuriatingly private man who pushed everyone away. “I'm sorry.” 

“So am I,” Aaron sighed, wincing and cupping his hands over his ears again. Tears stung hot in his eyes, burned down his cheeks. He hung his head between his legs, squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed hard at his ears. Dave, without waiting another minute, ushered the two men out of the room. 

“Please go,” Dave pleaded, his voice hardly above a whisper. “He needs to rest. This has gone on long enough.”

“Sean? How about breakfast tomorrow?” Aaron asked, his voice muffled, he hadn't moved. “Meet me here at 7.”

“Yeah, sounds good...” Sean replied, and let himself be escorted out of the room and down the hallway with Derek, his buzz entirely gone now. Nothing was quite as sobering as his brother, in any capacity. Dave shut the door behind them and vowed not to open it again, not for anyone. He slipped over to Aaron's bed and guided him back until he was laying down and tucked in again, where he belonged. 

“Are you staying?” Aaron asked, curling around himself in the bed, feeling his hips cry out in pain at the movement. 

“Of course,” was Dave's reply, seating himself on the other bed, leaning heavily against the headboard to finish watching his movie and eat the now cold pizza alone. Aaron hummed and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. It was easier when Dave was there. He drifted off to the sounds of Steve Martin making Dave chuckle, the last sound he remembered hearing was the pop and hiss of a beer can opening and then he was out. 

The nightmares came swift. They usually waited until he was so far gone that he'd be paralyzed by his deep sleep, trapped in the terrifying dream world his mind had created, but tonight they came immediately. Flames, ringing, shards of metal flying everywhere, embedding themselves painfully in his skin, the sensation of flying backwards. He relived those moments over and over, the ringing, the smoke, and then the blood. Kate, her face, and so much blood. He shifted uncomfortably in bed but couldn't wake himself. He was drowning in her blood, slipping and sliding in it as it surrounded her lifeless body. He would stand, try to walk to her, and then he'd slip and go under. He woke, finally, gasping for air in the pitch black room. Dave was sleeping on the next bed over, he could see the soft outline of his friend there, but his heart was thundering wildly in his chest and everything was silent. Was he making noise? He didn't know. He called out to Dave, but his voice didn't echo in his ears like usual. He tried to force himself to sit up, groaning in agony at the stiffness in his joints, the incredible pounding pain in his head. 

“Dave?” he called again, this time feeling his throat as he spoke. It felt wrong, like shards of glass lined the delicate flesh, but he just repeated himself, louder this time. “Dave?” Dave rolled over, he saw the shift in the sheets, then his friend's face, eyes glittering in the darkness. He didn't know why he was waking his friend up, not really, except he just needed to know he wasn't alone. Slumping over, he cupped his hands to his ears, it was the only thing that seemed to make him feel better, feeling his fingertips pressed hard against the skin around his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, the pain burning through him, from the sides of his throat and swirling inside of his head. Without hesitation, Dave was beside him, arms around him, silent comfort in the pitch black of the room. He eased them both back onto the bed, Dave seated with his back against the headboard, Aaron curled up beside him, and eased his friend back to sleep without a word. Shifting, Dave tried to get comfortable, letting his head drop to the side just enough that he could fall asleep again without being in too much pain in the morning. He was much too old to be sleeping like this, he thought a little bitterly, but there wasn't anything else he could do. Sacrificing his own comfort for one night seemed a small price to pay for a friend in need. 

The nightmares floated in and out, waking Aaron in a cold sweaty panic, but he found himself each time comforted by the warmth of his friend sleeping beside him and he was able to get back to sleep. It was a long night, and he watched as it stretched into morning, sun streaming through the closed curtains of his room. Quietly as he could, he slipped out of the bed hoping not to wake Dave, and toward the bathroom to take a shower. He'd hardly slept but he had breakfast with Sean and a long drive back to Quantico to look forward to, and there was no way he'd be able to do any of it without a shower. His body was all stiff muscles and aching joints, painfully throbbing head and ringing ears. He was, by all accounts, a mess but he'd survived and Kate hadn't – he couldn't understand the reasoning, though it was not lost on him. He was fine because what other option did he have? He'd been the lucky one. By the time he'd finished his shower, Dave was awake and visiting with Sean who probably hadn't been awake this early in years. 

“You sleep last night?” Aaron asked, pulling a t-shirt over his head and slipping into his button down, trying to keep his face as neutral as he could when he felt like crying out in pain. His shoulders were on fire, bruises painted in deep purples and blues over his pale skin. Sean shook his head. 

“No, you?”

“Not much,” Aaron replied, trying to get his tie good and tight with fingers that didn't want to work the way he needed them to. 

“I uh,” Sean started, looking down at his feet. “I went to her place. Just to see I guess? To make sure she wasn’t there. I still have a key. We had lunch last week, I tried to give it back but she wouldn't take it. Said she wanted to...” his voice broke and he cleared his throat. Dave rolled his eyes – such a Hotchner thing to do. “She wanted to try seeing each other again. I told her she should find someone better than me, it made her mad. We were supposed to go to the movies in a few days...”

Aaron slipped into his jacket and adjusted it tight on his shoulders, smoothing it down at his sides. His armor. He felt whole. It was easier to hide pain in a suit and tie. In a t-shirt and boxers, he could look hurt and vulnerable, now he just looked mean with the same face on. Sean hated the way he seemed to transform into a different person right in front of his eyes. Transform into their father, cold and calculating. 

“Let's go,” Aaron said softly, glancing at Dave briefly before heading toward the door. “I have to be in the lobby by 8:30 for my ride.” 

They made their way down to the cafe in the hotel lobby, though Aaron really wasn't hungry. He ordered a coffee with a scone, while Sean ordered eggs and hash browns, dousing his entire plate in ketchup like a child. Aaron picked at his scone without enthusiasm. 

“What do I do with the key?” Sean asked after a long silence. He knew what to do, but he was spiraling and he needed his brother to just...ground him. Tell him what to do. Be the grown up. Aaron shrugged. 

“Talk to her landlord,” he offered. “Call her family. I can come up and help clean out her apartment if...”

“No,” Sean interrupted. “I'll take care of it. You have a family to be with.”

“Sean,” Aaron said, realizing at that moment just how terrible they were at being brothers. At being family who shared things. “Haley left me. The divorce was just finalized. It’s just me these days.” Sean felt his heart stop for a brief moment and he shook his head in disbelief. 

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“You didn't tell me you were seeing Kate again,” Aaron offered, but he knew it wasn't the same thing. Not even close. “I didn't tell anyone. She had me served at work, right in front of my team, otherwise they wouldn't know either.” 

“Bad form,” Sean muttered, shaking his head. “I'm sorry.”

“She knew I'd be there...can't blame her, I guess.”

They sat in silence again, awkward silence between two men not used to opening up to one another. It was always like this anymore. There wasn't anything easy about their friendship as adults. Aaron struggled to look at Sean without seeing their father, without feeling like he always had to act as a shield, and Sean just felt anger and resentment and guilt. He felt robbed of having had a relationship with his brother for reasons he'd never really understood as a child, and that anger festered for years. All he'd wanted was a playmate, a confidant, a friend – and Aaron rarely gave him what he wanted. 

“Do you see Jack much?”

Aaron sighed and pressed a hand to his painful ear, trying to will the ringing to stop. “No,” he said softly. “I'm gone a lot, that hasn't changed. I try, and she lets me see him whenever I can.”

“That's good,” Sean offered, shoveling the last ketchup soaked bite into his mouth “I guess.” 

Breakfast was as awkward as Aaron had expected, but he left with a feeling of satisfaction anyway. He'd opened up to his brother, and to his credit, his brother had accepted it and not turned it around to make it about him, though in this instance, he would have been justified. He'd sustained a loss too. It may have been the first time they'd ever had a conversation so levelheaded and even. Dave met him in the lobby with his bags, having prepared both of their rooms for checkout. 

“How was breakfast?” Dave asked, setting Aaron's bag down at his feet. The hotel lobby was filling up, getting loud, and he could see that his friend was struggling. 

“It was good,” Aaron replied softly. He didn't feel like elaborating. Dave nodded and picked up their bags again, gesturing for them to make their way out to the sidewalk. He could see the SUV parked and waiting to take he and the rest of the team to the jet already. They walked side by side, slowly, Aaron limping just slightly. Dave wished he'd been the one to volunteer to drive his friend back, but he figured that Aaron and Derek could use the time to talk after the way they'd been at each other's throats on this case. Dave set Aaron's bag down at his feet and regarded his friend there, in his suit and tie looking crisp and clean, doing everything in his power to appear just fine. To see him now, you would never know he'd been in an explosion and watched a close friend die. It was hard for Dave to watch his friend go to such great lengths to make sure everyone else felt comfortable around him. To ensurehat he wouldn't inconvenience anyone. He would rather suffer silently and alone than ever be a burden if he could help it. 

“Well, this is me,” Dave said, lifting the latch to the back of the SUV and tossing his bag inside. The rest of the team were already waiting on him. “See you back at Quantico?” 

“Instructions from Strauss are for Agent Davis to drop me off at my apartment,” Aaron muttered, only briefly making eye contact. “She's putting me on medical leave until I have an MRI and a doctor's clearance. That shouldn't take long, I plan to be back before we get another case.”

“Right,” Dave said, nodding. “Dinner tonight, then? My treat.” Dave didn't play his games, didn't give in to him when he tried to push people away. He planned to keep a close eye on his friend. 

“Sure,” Aaron said, though he wanted to say no. He just wanted to be on his own. Dave patted him on the shoulder and slid into the backseat of the SUV without another word, and Aaron stood silently watching it drive away from him. If he'd been paying attention, he would have noted that Derek wasn't in the SUV, but he wasn't on his game just then. He stood silently on the sidewalk, squinting into the bright sunlight, listening to the sounds of the city around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Derek round a corner and begin approaching him at a clip that was concerning. As he neared, Aaron bent over to grab his bag, to make his way to the SUV parked at the end of the street ready to make the slow crawl back to Virginia. 

“Nuh uh uh...I got this...” Derek said, swooping in to grab Aaron's bag before the other man could get to it. Aaron regarded him suspiciously, a little upset at the change in plans. He didn't like surprises.

“I thought Agent Davis was driving me...”


End file.
